Monday, January 18, 2016

Fear in Terror's Clothing

I had a much different blog in mind for today, one about the Democratic
debate and how I really appreciated the exchange of ideas, as well as the lack
of the use of the word, “mess.” But then I read about Dafna Meir. And then,
in the New York Times, I read this:

Palestinian
Wounds Israeli Woman in West Bank, Military Says

By
ISABEL KERSHNERJAN. 18, 2016JERUSALEM —

APalestinianstabbed and wounded an Israeli woman
in a West
Banksettlement on
Monday, according to the Israeli military.The attack came the day after an Israeli woman was fatally
stabbed at the entrance to her home in a settlement to the south. Searches continued
for the assailant, who managed to flee afterthe assault on
Sundayin the
settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron.The assailant in the attack on Monday, which took place in the
settlement of Tekoa, south of Jerusalem, was shot and wounded at the scene.

According to Israeli news reports, the assailant was a
Palestinian boy, who was about 15 years old and who had entered the settlement
through a hole in its perimeter fence.The focus on settlements signaled a possible shift inthe recent surge of violence,
during which Palestinians have attacked Israeli soldiers, police officers and
civilians, usually using knives, cars and guns as weapons.Most of the
previous attacks took place on the streets of Jerusalem, in cities around
Israel, or along roads and at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

Dafna's Funeral /AFP-M.Kehana

Since Oct. 1, Palestinian assailants have killed more than 20
Israelis, an American student and a Palestinian bystander. More than 150
Palestinians have been killed during the same period, many of them after they
attacked or tried to attack Jews and others during protests and clashes with
the Israeli security forces.The attack on Monday occurred as the funeral was beginning in
Jerusalem for Dafna Meir, 38, the woman who had been killed the day before. Ms.
Meir, a hospital nurse, was a mother of six, including two foster children. At
least three of her children were in the house at the time of the attack, but
they were unharmed.

The victim on Monday, a pregnant woman around age 30, was
stabbed in a clothing warehouse in Tekoa.

This line really got me: "...many of them after they attacked or tried to attack Jews and others during protests and clashes with the Israeli security forces." Can someone explain this excuse to me...and to the families of people standing at bus stops who have been mowed down by terrorists?I went back to look for the headlines for Dafna Meir’s murder, and found 2 in the Times:

Two young Israeli women were fatally stabbed by assailants unknown to them simply because they were Israeli. They were not the first to be murdered in such an act, and they will not be the last. The headlines don't say this, but these are acts of terror.

The men who murdered them were Palestinian. They had been taught that to murder women is a pathway to heaven, an act of holiness. They believed that murdering a young mother and a pregnant woman was an okay thing to do. This line really got me

Who taught them that? Was it their own parents? Was it the teacher in the school? Was it the imam? Does it matter?

Well, actually, it does. Throughout Israel, Palestinians are walking up to street corners, into markets, into restaurants, onto beaches to randomly stab people who are doing nothing more sinister than breathing. Some die, some live. Some of the murderers die, others who are wounded receive the same superb medical care as the victims who survived. Despite the acts of terror, that is an act of humanity in the face of terror.

Interestingly, Dafna Meir, the mother of 6 murdered in the doorway of her home while her children were there, was a nurse at Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheva; she was studying Arabic to improve her communication skills with her Arab speaking patients. Her death means there is one less skilled, Arabic speaking nurse who can treat and care for Israeli Arab and Palestinian patients. While the loss to her family is incalculable, the loss to her patients and future patients is equally staggering.

Terror is not knowing if you will be safe when you open your front door. Terror is kissing your kids goodbye in the morning and really not being 100% sure you will see them in the evening. Terror is knowing that there are people walking the streets who believe that killing you is a good thing. And terror is knowing there are whole schools and playgroups devoted to teaching 4 year olds to be suicide bombers.

Terror is not what the GOP Clown Cavalcade thinks it is. Trump is afraid of his own shadow, Christie is paranoid, Cruz is delusional, Rubio...well....he's just naive. These clowns think you deal with terror by carpet bombing another country. That wholesale destruction of a country far, far away will stop Daesh from coming here. So they dress up fear in terror's clothing. They tell us the only way to live is to cringe behind the closed door they want all America to be.

Israelis open the front door. Israelis kiss their kids and send them to school before they go to the office. Israelis go to shopping malls and restaurants and bars and clubs. Israeli civilians rarely own guns; permits are almost impossible to get. What Israelis don't do is hide. If you hide, the terrorists win.

Whether or not the Associated Press or the New York Times wish to acknowledge that terror is what's happening in Israel speaks volumes about their shared perspective. Those two news outlets are willing to call anybody and everybody a terrorist....unless they are white and taking over federal lands in the Pacific Northwest....or Palestinians committing murder in Israel. In reporting, headlines matter.

The media has become the message. Whether it's an attack in Marseilles or in Otneil on the West Bank, not calling it terror implies that this is random thinking, not intentional attacks on an identifiable group.

2 comments:

I can explain although not to completely excuse the actions. "A Palestinian stabbed and wounded an Israeli woman in a West Bank settlement on Monday..."

The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal,[11] and the United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.[12][13] Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and communities in the Golan Heights, the latter of which has been annexed by Israel, are also considered settlements by the international community, which does not recognize Israel's annexations of these territories.[14] The International Court of Justice also says these settlements are illegal in a 2004 advisory opinion.[15][16][17] In April 2012, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, in response to moves by Israel to legalise Israeli outposts, reiterated that all settlement activity is illegal, and "runs contrary to Israel's obligations under the Road Map and repeated Quartet calls for the parties to refrain from provocations."[18] Similar criticism was advanced by the EU and the US.[19][20] Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal.[21] to the Israeli investigative reporter Uri Blau, settlements are massively funded by private tax-exempt U.S. NGOs, to the tune of $220 million for 2009-2013 alone, suggesting that the U.S. is indirectly subsidizing their creation.[10]

WP1)" More than 150 Palestinians have been killed during the same period, many of them after they attacked or tried to attack Jews and others during protests and clashes with the Israeli security forces."

This is a case of bad editing. The word "others" is referring to "Palestinians killed" and not the objects of "attacks" It should have been 2 sentences. "...tried to attack Jews. Other Palestinian were killed during violent protests...." I read this with the wrong meaning the first time.

2) The second victim, b"h, did not die of her wounds and will recover.

3)"Who taught them that? Was it their own parents? Was it the teacher in the school? Was it the imam? Does it matter?"

This spate of attacks are being carried out by young people in their teens or early 20's. They are indoctrinated from youth to hate the Jews - not just Israelis - the Yahud. Go to http://www.palwatch.org Palestinian Media Watch has been monitoring the Arab media for years. It is a constant government funded indoctrination of hate in the same way that Der Sturmer and other European antisemitic publications created the atmosphere that made fascism and the Holocaust possible.

And yes it matters. Because this incitement is coming directly from the government and terrorist organizations. The truth is that a lot of people are making a lot of money over the continuation of conflict.

4)To Unknown on Feb 5 @10:43amIs "to not completely excuse" the same as "to partially condone"?Thank you for cutting and pasting a Wikipedia article for us. So basically, you hold Palestinians to a lower moral standard than the rest of the world. Or do you believe everyone should prefer violence to negotiation?

Talking about the settlements as an excuse or justification for violence totally dismisses the incitement, rejectionism and antisemitism of the Arabs.

Furthermire, the legality of the settlements has never been determined in international law. What you have sited is only opinions. The arguments in favor of their being legal are more compelling than the arguments for their illegality. However, political considereations favor branding them as illegal. But briefly:The historic connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel (that would become the Palestine Mandate) was enshrined at San Remo and granted to Jews the legal right to emigrate to and settle in the Palestine Mandate.The Arab States rejected the 1947 partition plan. The Armistice Lines of 1948 are not international borders because there was no treaty between the neighboring countries. The remaining areas between the international borders of the Mandate and the Armistice Line did not have a recognized legal sovereignty. They came under Israeli control as a result of the 6-day war, a legal defensive action to Arab aggression. And again the Arab countries rejected peace with Israel.

A fuller legal discussion can be found here:http://www.mythsandfacts.org/replyonlineedition/chapter-9.html

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